I received a beautiful yellow Carmex beach tote with sailor rope handles. Very chic! It even has a zippered pouch for storing Carmex lip balms. Bonus points for the pouch being tethered to the inside of the tote. You'll know where your lip balm, car keys and cash are at all times. This is great for forgetful people like me, who find themselves doing the "Oh no, where's my wallet / or phone" pat down after a purchase and hustling back to a store to ask if someone turned in my belongings.
Inside the tethered pouch were six Carmex SPF 15 water resistant sunscreen lip balms. The first balm is Cherry Everyday Protecting Lip Balm. Quite honestly, I am just not a strawberry person in any form. I have made someone get rid of their strawberry car air freshener in the past. I always pass on strawberry flavored sweets. There's definitely not anything off about the flavor and scent of the strawberry Carmex, it's just my tastebuds. The lip balm stayed on a long time and kept my lips very moist, though. I can tell that my sister, who loves everything strawberry, would like it. My previous review of Carmex Ultra Moisturizing Vanilla Stick and Carmex Ultra Moisturizing Lime Twist Stick can be read here.
These are the other three Carmex SPF 15 water resistant sunscreen lip balms. They are Cherry Moisturizing Lip Balm, Pomegranate Everyday Ultra Smooth Lip Balm and Original Moisturizing Lip Balm. The cherry balm glided on smoothly, had a light, fresh cherry scent and left my lips baby soft. The original moisturizing balm was a little bit gooey, but not messy or sticky. It did dry quickly, though. The original balm smelled like sunscreen, which is a scent I am nuts about! I think it would be great for summer party favors. Fill a cellophane bag with Carmex Original Moisturizing Lip Balm, a few pieces of tropical flavored candy and a beach themed keychain. Tie it with a ribbon and you're done. So easy and elegant to put together!
The newest flavor is Carmex Pomegranate Everyday Ultra Smooth Lip Balm. Like the other Carmex balms, it has "broad spectrum SPF 15" and is "sunscreen / water resistant (80 minutes)." Which is perfect for me, because I tend to spend one or two hours sunning on the beach, followed by reapplying sunscreen and lip balm and rehydrating at the cool, shady snack bar. I have bought fresh pomegranates at the grocery store. So I know how fresh poms should taste and smell. If you haven't tried one, pomegranates taste like blueberries mixed with floral and cranberry notes. Carmex Pomegranate tastes like I just drank fresh pomegranate juice. Yum!
I am very impressed with Carmex Sticks and Carmex's new Pomegranate Ultra Smooth Lip Balm. Each variety was long lasting, mess free, had a great scent and had the added protection of SPF 15. What more could a happy, beach bound girl ask for ? Carmex has a list of stores that carry the balms on their website.
As a special bonus, Carmex is offering one lucky AMW reader a gift pack. Just like the one I received. You'll be the most stylish girl (or guy) on the sand. All you need to do is a leave your name, email address and a comment below; tell us which Carmex flavor you want to try most + one item you would take along if you were stranded on a desert island. One entry per person, please. Contest runs from Tuesday, August 14 at 4 PM EST and ends on Thursday, August 16 at 8 PM EST. I will pass the winner's address along to Carmex and they will personally mail out the prize. Good luck, everyone. And take care of your lips!
*Update: Congrats to Alice! You are the contest winner. Email me your full name and home address by 8 PM EST on August 16th. Otherwise a runner up will be chosen instead.
